Research Blog

The Battle of Halle in 1813

2013-05-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today is the 200 years anniversary of the Battle at Halle Saale. On 2nd May 1813 a Prussian corps occupied the French occupied Halle:

The Prussians appeared on 2nd May at Halle and started the attack at 6 o' clock on the northern suburbs, which could be taken, because the French were completely surprised by it. Only at the northern outskirts of the city, skirmishing began to develop. After several hours of fighting at the gates they were taken. After heavy losses of the French they fled across the Saale Bridge on the road to Lauchstädt. 432 Frenchmen were captured, as well as several artillery were conquered.*

Though the Prussians were victorious the battle was almost irrelevant, because the defeat at the Battle of Großgörschenfroced the Prussians to withdraw its troops to the Mark Brandenburg and Berlin protecting it from the advancing French, who were at Torgau and Wittenberg on the Elbe. But Marshal Ney moved to Bautzen to support Napoleon.

Source: wikipedia.

Thrifty Elizabeth Shackleton

2012-11-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

"I made me a work bag of my old, favourite, pritty, red & white Linnen gown", three years later: "made a cover for the Dressing drawers of my pritty Red & white linnen gown." Or: "I cut a pair of fine worsted stockings, good legs & bad feet - to draw over my Stocking to keep my knees warm - like them much now they are made properly for the use."

citated: Elizabeth Shackleton, in: Amanda Vickery, The Gentleman's Daughter, pg. 184.
Based on her diaries at the Lancashire Record Office in Preston. (Does anyone know how to get to read those 39 diares from where I live in Germany, I'd be grateful!)

Measuring the World

2012-10-25T02:01:00.000-07:00

Today a new period drama hits the theaters: Measuring the World.
Based on the novel by Daniel Kehlmann the movie takes us to the adventures of Carl Friedrich Gauß and Alexander von Humboldt's lives. The novel was a bestseller right after its publication and many a controversial discussion followed its success. Nevertheless I want to show the trailer to a very well adapted book and a beautiful period drama!

A letter from the 4th Duke of Marlborough

2012-10-11T00:40:00.000-07:00

"One June morning in 1763, the Duke helped himself to a sheet of guilt-edged ivory notepaper from the pile on his desk which, miraculously, never got any lower, and scribbled a note to Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, the most fashionable landscape-architect of the day. The Duke told Capability that he wanted to make 'expensive alterations' to Blenheim's dishevelled grounds. 'I have a notion I shall begin here immediately so that the sooner you come the better,' the Duke wrote in the peremptory tone which he used towards underlings."*

Well, I'm so inspired by this little abstract, that I want to do something with Leyland myself. Not with the help of Brown or William Kent I suppose, but something... And the guilt-edged notepaper! Gosh! i want some. Being a duke is really awesome indeed... ;-)

*Marian Fowler, Blenheim: Biography of a Palace, 1989, pg. 94.

Lady Cartwright now on Facebook

2012-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I managed to set up a page on Facebook for Emmeline. No profile, just a page. But its still offline, nothing much happened yet. I'm working on it... It's overwhelming what is possible with this timeline thingy... Still, I don't want a profile for my real life me...

Facebook page

2012-10-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

Archive buys 300 year old notebook

2012-10-09T10:31:00.000-07:00

City Archive Halle Saale (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) bought a 300 year old notebook, enabled by donations. It's a student's memorandum of his time in Halle in 1710. More than 100 entries of fellow students, teachers etc, including the publishing dynasty Gebauer, were collected by theology student Friedrich Wilhelm Ehr, who rented a chamber at the Gebauers. Archive members hope for more insights in economical and social history of Halle during the 18th century.

Facebook Revisited

2012-10-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

Last year I deleted my FB account, just before the timeline was launched. I don't regret it. I don't miss it. I don't use Twitter actively - just for my feed and stuff. But now, reading about this, I am intrigued to use it for the Leyland Blog as Emmeline's Diary.
The success to historical FB sites is new to me, but interesting. Even the many learning apps are fascinating and I am thinking of signing up for Emy...

Facebook increasingly includes learning tools among its many, many applications, although you'll need an account to explore them. Flashcards lets you create your own questions, vocabulary lists, and answers and maintain your digital cards in sets. The Courses application is one of several that enables students (or students and educators) to post schedules and exchange notes and comments.*

Does it really work to set a birthdate in mid 18th century?

UPDATE: whoosh! the 100th Research Post!!!!! Yeah...

National Trust Movie Map

2012-10-08T03:48:00.000-07:00

I just read this awesome post by Nicola and immediately headed over to the homepage to check out the map myself. Its great. I love it. Try for yourself!!!
I was thrilled to see a post for Lyme Park as well, the Pemberley of the 1995 Pride & Prejudice Series. I've visited the place myself in 2009 (oh gosh! so long ago!!!!) and loved it at first sight.

By Accident: Corisande de Gramont - Tankerville

2012-10-08T03:38:00.001-07:00

When exploring the graveyard at a nearby village, that is supposed to be Leyland's old cemetery, I found a gravestone for a woman named Corisande. Unfortunately I couldn't find any more informations on her online.
Though I hope to find out more about her, as she belongs to the family, the famous historian Schultze-Gallera comes from.

But I stumbled upon another Corisande: Corisande Armandine Léonie Sophie de Gramont, daughter of Antoine Louis Marie de Gramont, 8th duc de Gramont (later the family intermarried with the French branch of the Rothschild dynasty).

As it is often the case, coming across someone by accident like this, the person reveals a most interesting background. Her family is very famous. Her mother was Aglae de Polignac* (+1803, left), daughter of Yolande Gabrielle de Polastron, Duchess de Polignac and BFF of Marie Antoinette. (Well, she had brothers, of course, but I don't want to enlarge the post this much...)

At the Château de Versailles, on 11 July 11 1780, at the age of twelve, Aglaé married the Duc de Gramont et Guiche. She then became the Duchess of Guiche and was nicknamed 'Guichette' by her family.

Aglae's daughter Corisande (right) married Charles Augustus, 5th Earl of Tankerville on 28 July 1806 at Devonshire House, London. They had two children: Corisande Emma (+1865) and Charles (1810-99), the future 6th Earl of Tankerville.

Corisande Emma married the 3rd Earl of Malmesbury. But they had no issue. Her brother Charles married Lady Olivia Montague and one of his children (5) was another Corisande, who died in 1941.

The men in the Tankerville and Gramont families were mostly politicians and there's not so much on their wifes and daughters I could find.

*Aglae de Polignac, aka Madame de Gramont, made a brief appearance in the novel 'Farewell, my Queen' by Chantal Thomas published in 2002.

geboren.am

2012-10-05T10:39:00.001-07:00

I'm just fascinated by a website I just found: www.geboren.am
It is a German website, by Daniel Korioth, offering biographical details to many many persons throughout history sorted by their birthday... You can sort in many ways: today, days, years, anniversaries, names & places.
I love it! And I'll try and post some great and interesting peoples birthdays/anniversaries that suit the Leyland Blog.

Paintings of the human heart

2012-10-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

On 5th of October in 1758 German novelist August Heinrich Julius Lafontaine was born in Brunswick. After studying theology he worked as a private tutor for the Prussian officer von Thadden in Halle Saale. Then he acted as field chaplain and discovered his talent in creating stories. In 1800 he went to move in a country house near Halle and became a widely read author. Today he is almost forgotten... He wrote over 150 volumes, using several pseudonyms

Some of his works are:
Paintings of the human heart; 1792 and later, 15 vols.
Familiengeschichten (Family stories; 1797-1804, 12 vols.)
Kleine Romane und moralische Erzählungen. Berlin, 1799-1810, 12 Bde.
Die Wege des Schicksals. 1820, 2 Bde.

Leylands old Cemetery & Chapel

2012-10-01T12:02:00.002-07:00

Today I finally had the chance to visit a nearby cemetery and a church ruin. Shamefully I have to admit, that the village where it is situated is just a couple of kilometers away, but I never made it to just stop there. This morning I did and encountered a little paradise, both beautiful and spooky at the same time. And it became a post over at the Diary.
The model for Leyland's old cemetery and chapel is the ruin of Nietleben's old church at the Granau site near Halle Saale. As the wikipedia-article is only available in German, I collect some parts here in English: the settlement called 'Granau' was destroyed by Swedish troops during the 30 years war and though the place wasn't rebuilt, the church was in 1654 as a simple Baroque Hall. The altar was at the west front and there was no baptistery. In 1886 the church was abandoned because of a new Protestant church in the village of Nietleben. Since then the church decays. For example author and historian Baron Siegmar of Schultze-Gallera is buried at the Granau cemetery. More pictures are available here. I made several, because the atmosphere was so great, but will probably use them in the diary, not here...

Henry Purcell's ''Dido & Aeneas''

2012-10-01T11:29:00.002-07:00

Premier of Henry Purcell's first English opera was in 1689 in Chelsea. This 2006 production is by Deborah Warner & was broadcastet today on arte.tv:

Anne Rice's advice on being / becoming a writer

2012-09-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw2KXX7WrOY

A chocolate map

2012-09-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

On Thursday the Halloren Chocolate Museum in Halle/Saale will show a historical piece: a 3-dimensional chocolate map of Halle in the year 1952, the year the Halloren Kugeln were created. The map is 2,20m wide. Houses, streets and blocks show the city center in chocolate glory. Come and visit!

A Country House by Erdmannsdorff

2012-09-17T01:03:00.000-07:00

In 1780 the younger brother of Prince Franz of Anhalt, Johann Georg of Anhalt (1748-1811), engaged Friedrich Wilhelm of Erdmannsdorff as architect for a new country house within the Gartenreich at Wörlitz. He created an English landscape garden in the northern part of Dessau and built some more classical houses as part of the garden plan. The 'Georgium' is one of the most important gardens within the Gartenreich itself!
Johann Georg was a Prussian general and also founder of other parks and notable buildings around Dessau (Georgengarten & Beckerbruch). He never married and had no issue. His brother Leopold III. Friedrich Franz actually wanted him to become heir to Anhalt and enable Franz himself to stay in England with his mistress. Though Johann would have made a splendid Prince, history shows us, that Franz' return home to Dessau wasn't the wrong decision.

Frauen-Zimmer-Geschichten

2012-09-14T01:25:00.000-07:00

Morgen kann man an einer kostümierten Stadtführung in Halle teilnehmen. Zum letzen Mal in diesem Jahr findet die Frauen-Zimmer-Geschichten-Führung statt. Startpunkt ist das Marktschlösschen. Beginn ist 14 Uhr. Um die bedeutende Hallenserinne und Sehenswürdigkeiten entdecken zu können, meldet man sich unter:

0345/1229984

Die Teilnahme kostet 8€.

A most extraordinary thing happened

2012-09-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a wonderful video I wanted to post for ages... Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on9U_tdRIeU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

European Heritage Days - Ausstellungen zu historischen Themen in Sachsen-Anhalt

2012-09-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

As part of the European Heritage Days, here some tips on German sights, especially in Saxony-Anhalt. Sorry, this post is only available in German and I don't plan to translate it. but Google will... ;-P

In der Alten Elementarschule Quedlinburg, in der St. Cyriakus Straße 2, sind von Mo-Fr 10-16:30 historische Klassenzimmer und Unterrichtsmaterialien zu sehen.

Ebenfalls in Quedlinburg: Historische Glaskunst in der Galerie 7kunst am Word 28. Di-Fr von 11-18 Uhr.

Und gleich nochmal Quedlinburg! Im Schlossmuseum gibts die Schau 'Otto und die Liebe - Kaiserliche Hoch-Zeiten in Quedlinburg'. Di-So 10-18 Uhr.

Die Franckeschen Stiftungen zu Halle zeigen eine tolle Ausstelllung zur Protestantischen Musikkultur seit Luther!

Und nicht vergessen: am Sonnta ist Tag des offenen Denkmals. Bundesweit.

In Halle kann man sich das Leben vor 300 Jahren in Glaucha ansehen und zwar im Innenhof der Glauchschen Gaststube 'Zum Raubschiff' am Franckeplatz. Dort wurden die Pferde der Reisenden abgeschirrt etc. Mal ein anderer Blick hinter die Kulissen!

In Hohenmölsen kann man beim diesjährigen Herbstfes ins Jahr 1080 zurückreisen und den Städtischen Horden bei 'Wettspielereyen' zusehen.

Auch am Sonntag kann man den 'Eichenkranz' frisch sanierte Gasthof im Gartenreich besichtigt werden. Dann wandelt man auf den Spuren von Novalis, Ludwig I. von Bayern, Schopenhauer und Hölderlin. Von 10-17 Uhr ist Bürgerfest vor dem Wirtshaus, ab 9 kann man sich zu Führungen anmelden, die es ab 16 Uhr gibt.

In Frankleben/Braunsbedra kann man das 2007 sanierte Schloss Unterhof besichtigen.

Auch das Ostrauer Schloss derer von Veltheim lädt am Sonntag ein. Sollte man sich nicht entgehen lassen, da Führungen und Besichtigungen sonst nur auf Anfrage möglich sind.

Mein Favorit und definitives Ziel am Sonntag ist die Leopoldina, Sitz der Nationalen Akademie der Wissenschaften, am Jägerberg in Halle. Die Anlage ist taufrisch saniert. 1792 wurde das Gelände von der Loge 'Zu den 3 Degen' gekauft, mit einem Logenhaus bebaut und danach immer wieder erweitert und umgebaut. Von 11 bis 14 Uhr kann man an Führungen teilnehmen.

Und musikalisch Interessierte sollten auf ihrem Plan das Wilhelm-Friedemann-Bach-Haus in der Gr. Klausstraße nicht vergessen!

3, 2, 1... Baroque Chateau for sale

2012-08-15T02:49:00.000-07:00

On 25th of August you can bid for Baroque Chateau Bündorf, near Merseburg, Saxony Anhalt.

Starting bid is 120 000 € for several buildings and the 30 000sqm lot. The chateau etc are not in good condition and of course the Memorial Trust will have an eye on any renovations...

Good to know French!

2012-08-10T11:07:00.001-07:00

If you are able to speak/read/understand French, then you're lucky. Very lucky indeed, if you're also interested in everything Marie Antoinette and her family. The Hathi Trust Digital Library offers online texts by the Duchesse d'Angouleme, Marie Therese...

Here are some links (found via The Online Books Page and it's celebration of women writers):

Journal of Marie Therese during the French Revolution
Memoirs of Marie Therese d'Angouleme
The destiny of Madame Elisabeth, sister of Louis XVI (in English)

More women writers on this page and more by Marie Therese...

Frederick the Great and his architect

2012-08-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

You can attend a lecture on 18th century Prussian architecture and gardening at the Roncalli-House in Magdeburg.
On August 16th the export on Baroque art, architecture and history, Volker A. W. Wittich, will report on the building and garden designs by Georg Wenzeslaus of Knobelsdorff, architect to King Frederick the Great of Prussia.

The lecture will be held at Max-Josef-Metzger Str. 12.

Conference on European Gothic in 18th century Anhalt

2012-08-09T10:56:00.000-07:00

From September 13th to 15th the Dessau-Wörlitz conference on 'European Gothic in 18th century Anhalt-Dessau' will take place at the gallery of the historical inn 'Zum Eichenkranz'. Historians from Dessau, Potsdam and Berlin will attend and talk about this trend in architecture etc.

Carl Michael Bellmann

2012-08-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

The Neues Theater Halle will be an interactive stage for 18th song writer Carl M Bellmann. His songs dealt with love, wine and joy of life in Rococo Stockholm.
The audience is invited to actively take part in the play.

Tickets @ TiM-Ticket
0345/2029771